Juan Pablo Montoya has singled out some of Zak Brown’s comments about Lando Norris, hinting that team-mate Oscar Piastri could be upset by the McLaren Racing CEO’s words. He does not believe that either racer would leave the team after the 2025 title fight is concluded, though. Heading into the final 10 games of the 2025 season, Piastri leads Norris by nine points with the Brit scoring three victories in the final four Grands Prix before the summer break.
Considering McLaren’s sizeable advantage over the rest of the field, the title battle is now a two-horse race. The stakes are even higher due to the incoming technical regulation changes. It is feasible, albeit unlikely, that this may be the only title fight either driver participates in, so seizing glory in Abu Dhabi is critical. For now, the atmosphere within the McLaren camp is peaceful, despite the high stakes.
“No [Norris and Piastri won’t leave], because they both have contracts,” Montoya told CoinPoker. “Whoever wins would create an awkward situation for a while, but they’ll get over it.
“But was Senna politically correct? Was Senna correct in the way he won races and championships? No. Was Prost fair? No. Was Lewis fair? No. Schumacher? No. Was Max? No.
“What is interesting for me is that you hear Zak saying ‘This is Lando’s era.’ It’s an interesting thing because you haven’t heard Zak saying ‘This is Oscar’s era.’ He’s always said ‘This is Lando’s era.”
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While Montoya raised concerns over Brown’s comments, the McLaren boss is working hard to maintain a harmonious atmosphere and keep both drivers happy. Earlier this month, he revealed that conversations will take place with Norris and Piastri to discuss team celebrations when the Drivers’ Championship crown is decided.
“We’ll just sit down and actually have a conversation and go ‘Right, one of you is going to win’,” he told The Race. “‘It’s going to be the best day of your life – one of you is going to lose, how do you want us to handle that? You want us to jump up and down and celebrate this guy [who] won?’
“We’re fully aware and sensitive to how you celebrate that situation. And I think we’ll just sit down with the drivers and come to an agreement: ‘One of you is not going to be the champion. How do you want us to act?’ That’s the way we think. It comes back to thinking about our people.”